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Tuesday, 2 August 2016

The Guardian speaks for the terrorists

The
Guardian plays the role of spokesperson for the ‘moderate’
terrorists

Just look at the language of the main apologist for the 'opposition' (read 'terrorists'), the Guardian.Once upon- a-time it used to speak out for peace and social justice but now is the main voice for the Blairites and the war party and is second-to-none in its baying for war against Russia.

Single
deadliest incident for Russia since it intervened in civil war as
fighters say they have pushed back Assad forces

Rebel
fighters in Aleppo have launched a major military operation aimed at
breaking a weeks-long regime siege of the opposition-controlled
eastern part of the Syrian city.

Dozens
of soldiers on both sides of the battle have died so far in the
brutal fighting, including the crew of a Russian helicopter that was
shot down about 25 miles south of Aleppo on Monday morning, killing
all five people on board in the single deadliest incident for Moscow
since it intervened in the war.

Images
on social media purportedly taken at the scene of the crash showed a
dead body stripped of clothing being dragged through the dirt near
the wreckage.

It
was not immediately clear who was responsible for shooting it down of
the plane and no group among those fighting to end the siege of
rebel-held districts of Aleppo has claimed responsibility.

Aid
organisations believe about 250,000 civilians still live in the
rebel-controlled eastern half of the city and their plight has led to
growing international alarm. The area has been subjected to a butal
aerial bombing campaign from the forces of Bashar al-Assad and his
Russian allies, who have destroyed the last hospital operating in
eastern Aleppo.

Syrian
government troops imposed the siege after seizing high ground
overlooking the Castello road, a vital artery and the only supply
route into opposition territory from Turkey, which staunchly backs
the opposition and has called for Assad’s overthrow.

Hundreds
of opposition troops appear to be taking part in the multi-pronged
offensive, launched across a wide front. Rebels say they have pushed
back government forces across territory in the north and south of the
city, taking control of areas that have been used as staging grounds
for loyalist militias, including many backed by Iran.

The
campaign was launched on Sunday night, on the eve of the 71st
anniversary of the founding of the Syrian army.

Opposition
activists in Aleppo said rebel supporters burned thousands of rubber
tyres in advance of the offensive in an attempt to obscure troop
movements and limit the visibility of Syrian and Russian warplanes
patrolling the skies. Videos posted online showed vast plumes of
smoke enveloping the city, which was once the country’s commercial
capital.....[ ]

A
Russian helicopter with five people on board has been shot down in
Syria while carrying humanitarian supplies to Aleppo, the country's
Defence Ministry has said.

Three
crew and two officers were returning to Khmeimim base in Idlib
province when the helicopter was brought down by ground fire.

It
is the deadliest single incident for the Russian military since its
entrance into Syria's civil war.

"On
1 August, an Mi-8 transport helicopter has been shot down by ground
fire in Idlib province after a delivery of humanitarian aid to the
city of Aleppo.

"Three
crew members and two officers from the Russian Reconciliation Center
in Syria were on board," the ministry said in a statement.

The
Kremlin said all five personnel had died.

"From
what we know from information provided by the Defense Ministry, all
those who were on the helicopter died," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov told journalists.

Mr
Peskov said the Russians "died heroically because they tried to
move the aircraft away so to minimize losses on the ground".

Images
uploaded to social media purportedly show the flaming wreckage of the
helicopter along with a dead body and purported Russian identity
documents taken from the wreckage.

In
one video, what appeared to be a rocket pod can be seen next to the
wreckage. People standing nearby are seen taking photos on their
phones and shouting "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great"
in Arabic.

It
is currently unknown which group brought the aircraft down. Idlib
province has a strong presence of fighters both for the al-Qaeda
branch in Syria known as Jabhat al-Nusra and rebels.

Monday's
helicopter downing was the deadliest for the Russians since Moscow
began carrying out air strikes in Syria in support of Assad's forces
last September.

In
July, two Russian airmen were killed in the central Homs province
when their Mi-25 helicopter was shot down by what the defence
ministry said were IS fighters.

An
Mi-28N helicopter gunship crashed near Homs in April, killing both
crew members, but the Russian military said there was no evidence it
came under fire.

A
Russian warplane was shot down by Turkey along the Syrian border in
November, and one of the two pilots was shot and killed from the
ground after ejecting.

Earlier
on Monday, a Syrian military official claimed that government forces
repelled an attack by insurgents that was an attempt to break the
siege imposed on rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo.

The
development came a day after Syrian rebels launched the offensive to
break up the government's siege of the eastern, rebel-held part of
the city.

The
UN estimates some 300,000 people are still trapped in the rebel
section of Aleppo, with dwindling food and medical supplies. The UN's
special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, warned on Friday that
basic supplies in eastern Aleppo could run out in three weeks.

Opposition
activists said intense fighting was still ongoing in Aleppo on
Monday.